Putin Hosts Iran’s Top Nuclear Adviser in Surprise Kremlin Meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin held an unannounced meeting Sunday with Ali Larijani, the top nuclear adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, to discuss escalating tensions surrounding Tehran’s nuclear program.

The meeting, which took place in the Kremlin, underscores Moscow’s continued ties with Iran’s clerical regime, though Russia has remained restrained even after the United States joined Israel’s massive bombing campaign against Iran in June.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Larijani “conveyed assessments of the escalating situation in the Middle East and around the Iranian nuclear program.”

Peskov added that Putin reiterated Russia’s “well-known positions on how to stabilize the situation in the region and on the political settlement of the Iranian nuclear program.”

Meanwhile, a German diplomatic source told AFP that Britain, France, and Germany are preparing to restart negotiations with Iran in the coming days.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency also confirmed that Tehran had agreed to meet with the three European powers, citing an unnamed source.

While Iran continues to insist that its nuclear activities are peaceful, international watchdogs and Israeli officials have raised serious concerns. Tehran has enriched uranium to levels far beyond civilian use, blocked access for international inspectors, and expanded its ballistic missile arsenal. Israel recently warned that Iran has taken “significant steps” toward building a nuclear weapon.